Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Movie Review - What We Do in the Shadows

Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi***This film is currently available on HBO Now***

I certainly haven't laughed as much during a movie in 2015 as I did while watching the New Zealand import What We Do in the Shadows, a mockumentary that takes us inside the shared flat of a group of vampires as they deal with each other, everyday life in New Zealand, and, of course, werewolves. Completed on what I can only assume was a small budget, the writing and directing team of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi have crafted a hilarious spin on vampire tales by placing the audience into a Real World-type setting where creatures of the night stop acting nice and start getting real.

I went into this fairly fresh - unaware of the story, characters, or overall tone and I would like to reward my readers with that experience as well should they care to give this one a chance. Filled with both physical comedy and verbal barbs, Clement and Waititi (who also star as two of the vampire roommates) prove equally adept at presenting both kinds of comedy onscreen. There's a self-awareness on display -- several times they question the omnipresence of the "documentary" film crew recording them -- that proves to be perfect in setting the not-so-serious tone. There's almost a sense of whimsy present and, considering the subject matter, it makes the whole thing even funnier as they try and paint a pleasantly "normal" atmosphere amongst the vampire crew.

With a great ensemble who are all adept at creating laughs, What We Do in the Shadows is a treat. As mentioned, I'd discuss more, but I don't want to ruin the experience for others. Surely, this will pop up in the RyMickey Awards in the months ahead and I'll delve into it a bit more there. As long as you buy into the type of comedy - which will either occur in the first ten minutes or not -- I can't imagine you won't have a good time with this one.